Dance With My Father Again
by Una Morgan
Summary: Rated for language. Yugi copes with his father's death ten years later. Complete short story. Songfic. Fluff abounds. Oneshot


Hey! This is my first Angst fic, and is not related to my current Yu-Gi-Oh story except as background. All characters are not mine. Well, Jaone is mine, and is a BIG character in the story! Hope you all enjoy it.

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Dance with My Father

By Una

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Dedicated to my bestest friend Lisa and her mother

Furia collapsed into her seat and let the telegram fall to the floor. It can't be true! It just can't be! Her heart pounded harder as her mind tried to reason a way out of this. "Please God," she sobbed. "Please! Not my Joane! Not my wonderful husband!" Tears streamed down her face. "Please! Let this be a sick joke!" She turned around to the table, crossed her arms on it, and began sobbing into them. How could this happen to them? What was to become of them now?

"Mommy?"

She gasped back a sob, and sat straight up. Her six-year-old son, still dressed in his Power Ranger pajamas, stood at the door. He cocked his head slightly in confusion. "Mommy? What's wrong? Why you cryin'? D'you hurt yourself?"

Furia felt another wave of emotion fill her chest. Joane would never see his precious son grow up. And Yugi would never have a father to guide him to be a man. "Sweetie," she started, acting strong for his sake, "Daddy's not coming home next month for Christmas."

Yugi's head moved to the other side and he blinked twice. "Why?"

Furia opened her mouth to speak, but a lump had formed in her throat. Yugi trotted to her side, stood on a chair next to her, and wiped away a fresh tear with his sleeve. "When's he comin' home, Mommy?"

She stared into those big, bright, amethyst eyes of his. How could she explain the concept of 'Death' to her small, tender-hearted son? "Well, Yugi-chan, remember how your pet turtle fell asleep and Daddy told you how his soul went to Turtle Heaven?"

"Un!"

"Well…" Her eyes spilled over with tears again. "Daddy…. Daddy has gone to People Heaven."

Yugi's gorgeous eyes widened. "Why?"

Why? That's the eternal question, isn't it? Nobody could answer 'Why.' The pain within Furia's heart crushed her restraint at Yugi's innocent question. She let out another sob and threw her arms around her son. "Yugi-chan," she sobbed into his hair. "Watashi no ii tenshi! [1] We're never going to see Daddy again!"

Mild comprehension dawned on the boy. His Daddy would never walk through those doors again, laughing about something dumb his buddies did on their last trip. He'd never lift Yugi onto his shoulders or throw him up into the air. He'd never come in at night and tuck Yugi in, promising to one day take him on a dig in some foreign land.

'He's never coming home…'

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*Ten Years Later*

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Yugi Moto woke up with a start. He glanced at the clock by his bedside. '2am? Kuso!' [2] He rubbed his eyes. 'Must be the end of November,' he thought off-hand. 'Right on schedule.'

Every year around this time he had the same dream, or shall we say the same memory. That memory took place ten years prior, and it still pained Yugi to see his mother's sad face.

The teenager sat up and stared out into the night. The stars continued on their way. The moon hid behind a cloud, dark and cold. The streetlights offered no comfort; nothing ever really did when he woke up from that dream. Whenever he thought of it any other time of the year, his father seemed to exist in another lifetime. But now… Yugi hoped Jaone Moto would walk through his bedroom door, asking what he was doing still awake.

So much had happened in the past ten years. Hell, so much had happened in the past few months! Yugi gazed at the Millennium Puzzle beside his clock, dim and dormant in the dark room. For a moment he considered waking up Yami, the spirit of the Puzzle, to talk to him. Surly he'd offer some comfort.

But no. The last thing he wanted was to go crying to his "other self" when he already acted so immaturely by comparison. And what could the pharaoh do? Offer condolences? Those never really worked anymore, not after ten years. Stare at him with pity? It'd make Yugi feel worse!

He sighed and lay back down. 'Better just try to get some more sleep, I guess,' he thought.

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"Mornin', Jichan," chirped Yugi. [3]

Grandpa Moto smiled. "Good morning, Yugi! Have a good night's sleep?"

"Yup," he lied. "What day is it?"

"Friday, November 28th." The old man paused. "Sit down and eat your breakfast. I've got to talk to you."

"Can't, Jichan! Its already past 8. I'd better head off to school! Ittekimasu!" [4]

Sugoroku almost called him back, but thought better of it. 'I'll talk to him after school,' he decided. Yugi shut the door, waved to his mother (who was in the back gardening), and ran off to catch the bus. 

//Liar.//

/Un? Hey! You're actually up at a decent hour, _Mou hitori no boku_! Gotta mark the calendar!/ [5]

//Aibou, how much sleep did you get last night?// [6]

/Not sure. Why?/

//You sound terrible.//

/Gee, thanks!/

//Anything on your mind?//

/Nothing too important. You don't hafta worry./

//Pretend all you want, but there's something you're hiding from me, and I don't like it.//

Yugi grinned. /Then mou hitori no boku shouldn't have taught me how to guard against people who want to control my mind!/

//Mou hitori no ore is getting too cheeky for his own good!//

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The day went by as usual, except when Yugi dozed off during Computers. His head hit the keyboard, and his monitor nearly exploded. Luckily, the blast knocked the teacher out, so he didn't get in trouble.

"Cool stunt, but you gotta work on your timing," advised Jonouchi. "Wait until the teacher is NOT in back of you!"

"Very funny," muttered Yugi.

Jonouchi stretched lazily. "Alright! I can't WAIT for tomorrow!"

"Yeah," agreed Ryou. "The arcade hasn't held a free tournament in ages! I wonder how they're going to pay for all of the time kids are gonna be on the boxing game."

Honda nodded. "And Anzu's gonna cream the competition at DDR! Which game are you gonna tackle first, Yugi?"

Yugi snapped back to reality. "Un? Gomen. I didn't hear you." [7]

"You okay," asked Honda.

"Yeah, just sleepy." 

Ryou eyed the other teen. "You don't look too good today, Yugi-kun." 

"Probably just missing Anzu," Jonouchi laughed. "Don't worry, Yug! She's comin' back from her dance audition tonight."

Yugi checked his watch. "Uh-oh! Gotta go! Jichan wanted to talk to me about something today! Bye guys!" He sped off down the street. He honestly wanted to get away from the others before they questioned him further.

Yami leaned against a wall in his soul room, listening to Yugi's day and occasionally watching through their connection. Something was bothering his aibou today, and it made him very uneasy. What could be so terrible he couldn't confide in any of his friends?

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.

"I'm home," Yugi called out as he walked back into his house. "Mum! Jichan!"

Grandpa Moto came out of the storage room carrying a stack of boxes. He couldn't see Yugi over or around them. "Oy! Yugi! You're home early! Glad to see-oop!" He lost his concentration and tripped, dropping the boxes and their contents all over the floor.

"What happened," Yugi's mother called from upstairs.

Yugi bent down to check on his grandfather. "Jichan!"

Grandpa Moto grimaced and rubbed his knees. "Ouch! I'll be fine Yugi."

Furia ran downstairs. "My God! Are you alright?" 

Yugi helped him up. "I think he'll be okay, Mum. Just a small fall." His attention lead him to the boxes. Each one was filled with new DM cards. "Sugoi sugoi! When did these come in?" [8]

"This morning. I figured you'd like a couple packs to strengthen your deck."

Furia rolled her eyes. "You two! So childish!" She sat her father-in-law down. "Have you talked to him," she whispered.

"I will, Furia. I will."

Yugi randomly chose one for the fun of it, then took his time with the second. /Okay, Mou hitori no boku! You pick one!/ A faint glow came from the Puzzle's eye, and Yugi felt his arm drift to a certain pack in the center. "Got it!"

"Yugi," interjected his mother. "We need to talk."

"In a sec, Mum!" He tore open his first pack. Mostly new trap and weak monster cards. "Not bad," he said, scanning the bottom. "Hey, this one destroys all monsters on the field above 2000! That's great for when I'm in a jam!"

Grandpa Moto waved his hand at Furia. "Let him finish."

Yugi opened the second pack. As he expected, Yami had more luck in choosing his cards. Most of the monsters were level 4 or higher, and the quality of the magic cards were better. /Kinda like cheating, ne?/

//Not really. I don't know exactly what the cards are, just that they're good.//

Furia looked over Yugi's shoulder. "Not bad! That card may have low attack power, but its effect makes up for it!"

Yugi smiled at his mother. She used to play Duel Monsters, but only to help Yugi practice. He admired her so much.

"Yugi," said Sugoroku, "we need to talk to you. Come into the living room." He stood up painfully, and lead the way to the small kitchen area that served as a dining room and living room. All three Motos sat down at their usual places. "What's up," Yugi asked casually.

"Yugi-chan," said his mother, "do you remember what tomorrow is?"

"The tournament at the arcade?"

"Yugi…"

"The 29th," he joked.

"Yugi, be serious."

Yugi took off the Puzzle. He didn't want Yami over-hearing this conversation. "What about it?"

Furia stared at the table. "Tomorrow its going to be ten years…"

"I know. So?"

Grandpa Moto leaned forward. "Your mother and I were thinking about taking a little trip to Checks Town, and we want you to come with us."

All remained silent for a minute. "Do we have to," Yugi asked softly.

"I think its only respectful."

Furia slouched a little. "Yugi-chan, I know your father's death was hard on you, but you can't shut out his memory. You know better than to act so bitterly every time we bring up his name. Now, we're going to be staying at your aunt Raiko's house overnight, after we visit the grave tomorrow."

Yugi's eyes disappeared under his bangs. "I don't want to go."

Grandpa and Mrs. Moto sat up straight. Yugi normally behaved himself in front of adults, and here he was outright disobeying them. "Yugi," warned Sugoroku.

"I don't want to, but I will," Yugi added. He stood up and pushed his chair in. "May I be excused?"

"Not until we talk about this a bit m-"

"I said I'm going," Yugi snapped. "Isn't that enough?"

"No," said his mother firmly. "You tell me right know what's going on. You shouldn't be acting like this!"

"How'm I supposed to, Mum? I just don't want to talk about what's past and can't come back! It won't change anything!" He picked up his bag and the Puzzle. "I'm going to do my homework," he stated, than hurried away ignoring the adults' calls.

Safe in his room, he threw the bag on the bed, got out a book, and stared at it for five minutes before he noticed it was upside-down. Why? Why did his mother want to talk about something that made her cry at night? He often passed by his mother's room and saw her tearing up over a photo album or a box of love letters or something. If all of those memories were so painful to her too, why keep bringing it up?

The letters on the page began to blur. 'No! I won't cry! I'm not a baby!' But even as he thought it, salty tears poured down his cheeks. He could still clearly picture his father's face and hear his voice. Yugi thought of one clear instance. He was five, and learning how to play catch with a glove. He had to stick his whole forearm inside, but he didn't really mind. Jaone insisted they'd have fun. Suddenly, a black spider had crawled out and onto Yugi arm. He screamed. Jaone quickly put his finger under the spider and flicked it away.

"With these two hands," he had said to Yugi, "you must protect those you love, at all costs! That is the true worth of a man!"

Soon, Yugi's chest hurt from sobbing into his folded arms. 'Daddy! Why'd you hafta die by that stupid rule?! Why couldn't you have stayed longer?! Why didn't you teach me more how to be like you!? Why _can't _I be more like you!?' 

Yugi heard a creak, and he sat up with a gasp. Yami, sitting on Yugi's bed, was in the act of reaching out to his partner, but had stopped when Yugi spotted him. The latter realized with a jolt that he'd left his full emotions unguarded from Yami's ever-watchful senses. In short, Yami knew and felt everything Yugi did.

Yami closed his out-stretched hand. //Aibou,// he started, but didn't know what else to say. His bud looked worse than ever; his hair was mussed, his nose runny, his eyes red, and his face soaked with tears.

Yugi's blood began to boil. Pity over-flowed in the dark red eyes of the pharaoh. Yami pitied Yugi and wanted to comfort him. How dare he? Yami knew Yugi wanted privacy and he blatantly ignored Yugi's wishes. Now he pitied him?!

/Go away,/ Yugi growled in his mind.

Yami shrunk back a bit. //Aibou, I merely wanted-//

"I said GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

Yami turned away to go back to his Puzzle, but grimaced when his gaze landed on the doorway. //Oh-siris!// [9]

Yugi turned and saw his mother standing there. "Gomen," she said softly. In her perspective, Yugi had told _her _to go away. "I only came to tell you dinner will be ready soon."

"Mom…"

Furia closed the door without another word. Yami bit his lower lip, and vanished. Yugi was all alone again, just like he said he wanted.

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Early the next morning, Yugi set to packing his things for the trip. He tried his best to concentrate on what he needed, but after two nights of almost no sleep, he could hardly think at all. "Okay, toothbrush, check. Deodorant, check. Underwear, check. Socks, check. Casual clothes to wear for the car ride…" So sleepy, he had to made sure that he was dressed. "Check."

Sugoroku poked his head in. "Oy, Yugi! Pack light. We're only staying overnight!"

"Un!" Yugi yawned. "How long will it take?"

"Hmmm, its about 150 miles, so about two-and-a-half hours."

"'Kay. I'll pack some puzzles…" His hand brushed the Millennium Puzzle. 'Pack only what I need, huh?' He remembered Yami's pity from the day before, and the betrayal he'd felt. He hesitated. "Its only overnight," Yugi reasoned to himself. "He'll understand." Yugi zipped up his nice, black suit in his duffle bag, callously slung it over his shoulder, and trudged downstairs. "Tell me again why we're leaving at 6am, Mum!"

Furia took Yugi's duffle and stuffed it into the trunk. For such a small, petite woman, she could be very strong. "Raiko wanted to take us all out to breakfast before we visit Jaone."

Yugi clicked his tongue to his teeth. "You make it sound-"

"Oy! Furia!" Grandpa Moto wanted to avoid a fight so early. "Need anything to keep you busy?"

"I brought along a book and some magazines."

"And you, Yugi?"

"I got some crosswords and brain teasers." He yawned again. "Maybe I'll just sleep the whole way there."

Furia's face softened with concern for her son's health. Yugi misinterpreted it as another dose of patronizing, so he got into the back seat and buried his face in a book.

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Yami half hung out of his bed, which was shaped like a sarcophagus, [10] from tossing and turning all night. His worry for his partner weighed heavily on his mind. He simply couldn't shake the image of him screaming at him to go away.

'I don't get it,' thought Yami. 'If his father died so long ago, why is he still so upset about it? Its not like Aibou to dwell on such things.' He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair. 'Sounded like they were close, though. He oughta feel lucky! At least the little time they had appeared happy! Wish I could remember my father.'

He sighed. 'I'm never going to understand him completely! Wonder what time it is…'

Yami appeared in his transparent form. 'Great, 6:27! A record for my waking up and Yugi isn't even-' He froze and did a double take at the bed, only to find again there was no Yugi. 'What the Hell?' He closed his eyes and used the Puzzle's powers to seek out his partner. Yugi was safe, but far from his range to communicate with him directly. 'Ra! I forgot about the trip!'

He tried to hurry out of the room, but with no one to host him and carry the Puzzle, the pharaoh was trapped!

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At 8:30, Jonouchi met up with Honda, Ryou, and Anzu a block away from the Turtle Game Shop. "Heya Anzu! How'd the audition go?"

"Well, I guess," said Anzu. "Wish they didn't ask me to do a triple Minnesota Time-Step. That's the worst!"

The boys forced on smiles as sweat drops slipped down their heads. "Uh, yeah," muttered Jonouchi. "Whatever."

Honda turned the handle of the shop's entrance, and blinked twice when he found it locked. "Eh? What's the deal!?"

"Oy! Yugi!" Jonouchi yelled at the top of his lungs toward Yugi's window. "Ready for the tournament?!"

"Guys look," said Ryou pointing at a sign in the window. "It's closed!"

"Closed," said Honda incredulously. "The old man never closes! Not on a Saturday!"

"And this is also his home," added Anzu. "He'd open up for us."

Ryou peeked around the back. "The car's gone too. I wonder what's up."

Jonouchi kicked the door in frustration. "Kuso! Of all the days to take a trip! He didn't even bother at call us!" He turned his back to the shop. "C'mon! Let's go before it starts." He took two steps away, then…

//Jonouchi-kun!!//

He stopped. "You guys say something?" A picture appeared in his head. "Honda, lift up the potted plant on the left."

"Huh? Why?"

"I dunno. Somethin's telling' me that there's a key there."

Ryou moved past the skeptical Honda and found the key. "He's right!" They opened the door and entered. Jonouchi walked ahead of them up the stairs. 'Wonder why I knew about that.' He opened Yugi's bedroom door. "Nothin'."

"What'd you expect," grumbled Honda.

"Guys, look!" Anzu picked up the Millennium Puzzle. "Yugi left it behind!"

Jonouchi took it. "Why the Hell'd he do that?"

"You don't think something bad happened to him, do you," asked Ryou timidly.

//Aibou is safe, but I'm concerned about his mental state right now.//

Jonouchi's eyes bugged out. "Wha-wha-what?!? Who said that?!" His head jerked from left to right. "Y-you guys heard that, right?"

"Uh, no," said Honda, raising one eyebrow.

//Jonouchi-kun, its me! The spirit of the Puzzle! Only you can hear me like this because you're holding it.//

"Ano… okay…"

//Yugi and his family left early this morning to Checks Town to visit Yugi's dad, Jaone Moto.//

"Checks Town? Jaone Moto? I ain't getting' this at all!"

Honda bent down and whispered to Anzu, "I think Jou's finally cracked!"

"No," said Ryou. "The pharaoh is talking to him through the Puzzle!"

"So, what's all this about Checks Town?"

"That's where the Motos used to live." They all looked at Anzu. "I've known him a lot longer than you guys!"

"Okay, so what do you know about this 'Jaone Moto' guy?"

Anzu paused. "Well, I met Yugi not long after he and I both moved here, a few months after it happened …"

"Oh, fercryinoutloud!! Just somebody tell me what the hell is goin' on!!!"

Ryou slapped his forehead. These three had no idea how to solve things! "Jonouchi-kun, may I borrow that?" He took the Puzzle and gave it to Anzu. "You'd better talk to him."

Anzu blinked, then talked into the Puzzle like a phone. "Mou hitori no Yugi?"

A sweat drop glazed down the Puzzle at Anzu's action. //Ano, yes Anzu, it is me.//

"How was Yugi acting last night?"

//Close your eyes.// Using the power he possessed, he replayed most of the events of the night before (censoring out the full extent of Yugi's face, like his nose running, etc.). Anzu covered her mouth. "Oh God…"

//What happened to his father, Anzu?//

Anzu sat down on Yugi's bed. The others gathered around to hear the story.

"Jaone Moto was an archeologist like his father, Sugoroku. He became famous for his discoveries and habit of choosing dangerous areas, but always coming out in one piece. In fact, he met Yugi's mom while touring around Japan retelling of his adventures in the wild. They fell in love, got married, and had Yugi not long after that.

"The family was very close. Mr. Moto loved his son so much, he decided to give up his dangerous expeditions to settle down and raise Yugi right. They lived in Checks town for six years, until one of his old comrades begged for his help in one final mission. A Mayan temple had been found deep in their holy land, and the natives believed evil spirits were stealing their children. Everybody was too afraid to check it out."

"But not Yugi's dad," asked Honda.

"Nope." Anzu's eyes fell. 

Silence fell. "What exactly happened," asked Jonouchi.

"A cave in. One of the team members lost his head and set off a trap. Mr. Moto saved a lot of the people, but ended up killed beneath the rubble."

"How terrible," muttered Honda.

"That's part of the risk you run as an archeologist," said Ryou darkly. "Its an under-paid, under-appreciated job that only fanatics take willingly."

"Like the crazy old man and Yugi."

"He was a hero, though," Jonouchi pointed out. "Saving all of those guys? Shit, I don't know if I could do that!"

Anzu said, "I'll never forget when Yugi told me that story. He said his dad lived and died by an old saying Jichan taught him: 'With these two hands, you must protect those you love at all costs! That is the true worth of a man!'"

"How come Yugi never told us all of this before?"

"I don't know. After a while, he just stopped talking about him."

//Aibou doesn't think his dad would be proud of him.//

"What'd you say? Not proud of him?"

Yami replayed Yugi's words from the night before. 'I just don't want to talk about what's past and can't come back! It won't change anything!' 'No! I won't cry! I'm not a baby!' 'Why'd you hafta die by that stupid rule?!' 'Why didn't you teach me more how to be like you!? Why _can't _I be more like you!?' 

Anzu understood. As much as she and the others tried to ignore it, Yugi was physically and emotionally weaker than all of them. He still got harassed by bullies, and never retaliated without suffering heavy bruises or cuts, placed last in PE, lost in any sport he played, remained much shorter than any teen in their class…

"I think the spirit's right," said Anzu at last. "Yugi doesn't think he's good enough to live up to his father's reputation. He loves his dad so much, wants to make him proud of him!"

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Yugi stared at the gates of the graveyard, as if he were about to enter his final judgment. He pictured his father on the other side, so full of hope that his son would grow up big, strong, and brave. 'Its been ten years,' Yugi thought. 'Ten whole years, and I'm going to disappoint him! Here I am, the son of a great man… What can I say? "Hi Dad! Missed ya! I'm the punching bag of the school, don't get good grades, I'm a World Champion of Duel Monsters even though its realy my other self that's the genius!"' He bit his lip. 'Daddy, I miss you!'

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~~Back when I was a child, before life removed all the innocence  
~~My father would lift me high and dance with my mother and me and then  
~~Spin me around 'til I fell asleep  
~~Then up the stairs he would carry me  
~~And I knew for sure I was loved  
~~If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him  
~~I'd play a song that would never, ever end  
~~How I'd love, love, love  
~~To dance with my father again

Yugi carried his family picture. In it were his mother smiling for the camera, Jaone grinning, and four-year-old Yugi holding up peace signs. He touched his father's face with his fingers. 'You were always there for me when I needed you. When I cried, you came to help me blow my nose and warned me not to cry in front of Mom. When I got scared, you'd pretend to fight off whatever came near me, even if it was imaginary monsters in the closet.' He smiled. 'Funny. I always believed it!'

__

~~When I and my mother would disagree  
~~To get my way, I would run from her to him  
~~He'd make me laugh just to comfort me  
~~Then finally make me do just what my mama said  
~~Later that night when I was asleep  
~~He left a dollar under my sheet  
~~Never dreamed that he would be gone from me  
~~If I could steal one final glance, one final step, one final dance with him  
~~I'd play a song that would never, ever end  
~~'Cause I'd love, love, love  
~~To dance with my father again

Raiko, Jaone's sister, walked Furia toward the gate. As they neared, Furia burst into a fresh round of sobs. Sugoroku handed her his handkechief. "Now now, Jaone wouldn't want this!"

Yugi stayed away. 'She's suffering as much as me. But I can't go over there to help her! I might start crying again!'

__

~~Sometimes I'd listen outside her door  
~~And I'd hear how my mother cried for him  
~~I pray for her even more than me  
~~I pray for her even more than me  
~~I know I'm praying for much too much  
~~But could you send back the only man she loved  
~~I know you don't do it usually  
~~But dear Lord she's dying  
~~To dance with my father again

"Yugi," called Sugoroku.

"Un?"

"You go on ahead. We'll catch up."  
Yugi gulped. 'Me? Go alone?' He looked back up at the imposing gates. 'Well, if I'm going to face judgment, I'll go alone! I gotta act brave! For Dad…' He took a deep breath, and walked into the cemetery.

__

~~Every night I fall asleep and this is all I ever dream 

The graves stood silently, guarding their masters with charms and words of blessings. Each had a name of some loved one set as a testament. Stone statues with cold, soulless, gray eyes lined certain areas to ward off evil spirits and any frail heart that happened to wander by. They made Yugi shiver. Was he a medium now for spirits, because he solved the Millennium Puzzle? Would they sense it and come after him? Would his dad?

A voice floated from the distance, standing apart from the whistle of the wind. Yugi knew that voice. Was it Anzu? No, it couldn't be! Still, the thought of her made him feel stronger, and he quickened his pace to find the source.

He climbed the small hill to the Moto family plot. Sure enough, he saw his friends gathered around Jaone Moto's grave. Anzu finished talking, and Honda went on. "It kinda looked like a big, purple and black cloud, but you could feel evil coming from it. We didn't see what happened, but Yugi beat Pegasus! In the middle of all that!"

Yugi's jaw dropped. 'What … What the heck…?'

Yami, who was sitting on a gravestone behind the others, smirked. //You expected something else, Aibou?//

/Mou hitori no boku? How did you- How did _they_-?/

//Let's put it this way: Motorcycles are meant for two people, not four!//

/All of you road 150 miles on Honda's motorcycle?! Are you guys nuts!?! And what about the tournament!/

//Everyone felt this was more important.//

"Or how about when he stood up to Ushio, that bully hall monitor," added Honda. The group still hadn't noticed Yugi behind them. "We used to pick on him so much, but when a bigger bully started picking on us, Yugi protected us! Talk about guts!"

//One way to tell Anzu, Honda, Jou, and Ryou are such good people is that they recognize you for who you are. We all know you're one in a million, and you're braver than men three times your size.//

"Yeah," said Jonouchi to the grave, "and you thought the bullies he saved us from were bad, try Malik! One time in Battle City, this evil guy controlled me using superpower magic! He forced us to battle! But Yugi was right there through it all. He never abandoned me. He helped me through and to break Malik's control." Jonouchi folded his arms. "He even lost on purpose to save my life."

Ryou said, "I'll never forget the fire at the storage house. Yugi stayed in the middle of the fire to solve the Puzzle and rescue his other self. If that isn't courage, what is?"

The edges of Yugi's mouth curved up. /That was kinda brave, huh?/

//I'm sure as Hell grateful!//

Anzu touched the name of Jaone Moto. "Moto-san. I'm sure, wherever you are, you are looking down on Yugi with proud eyes." 

"Yeah," sid Jonouchi laughing. "'Cuz we look down on him with proud eyes here too!" 

Yugi chuckled at the joke on his height, and his friends jumped up in surpise, flashing the "Takahashi Surrender sign". [11] Yugi only laughed harder. "Gomen! Gomen! I didn't mean to scare you guys!" n_n

"Don't sneak up on people like that," exclaimed Anzu. 'Wow, he looks good in a tux!' _[AN - Yugi in a tux …… *drool*]_

"We thought you'd left already," said Ryou, getting his heart started again.

"Naw. Aunt Raiko took us to breakfast and a tour of the neighborhood to see how things have changed." Yugi beamed at them. "You guys…. are such great friends…"

"Hey," said Jonouchi, grabbing Yugi in a necklock. "We're always here for ya!" He spotted the picture in Yugi's hands. "What's that?"

"Uh! It's a picture of my family. Wanna see?"

Honda grinned. "So that's where you get your hair from! 'Cept Moto-san had yellow tips, and you have red."

"Yeah, that's from my mom, I guess."

"I like his face," commented Ryou. "You can tell he laughed a lot."

"He did. He really loved jokes."

Anzu squealed. "Aw! Is that really you, Yugi!? Kawaii!!"

Yugi blushed brightly. His chest filled with so much happiness, he could have grown a foot!

Jonouchi heightened his voice two octives, mocking Anzu. "Oh Yugi-sa! I just love short guys with big hair!!"

Yugi, Ryou, and Honda laughed as Anzu started chasing Jonouchi around the graves. Nearby, Furia, Sugoroku, and Raiko watched on. "Should we interrupt them," asked Raiko.

"No," said Furia, smiling at her son. "Let them play."

.

__

Every parent is a hero

In the eyes of their child

For they are our models

When the road gets so wild

We look up to them

To give guidance and help

While they prepare us

To face life by ourselves

.

[1] - Watashi no ii tenshi = "My Pure/White Angel"

[2] - Kuso = "damn/shit"

[3] - Jichan = "Granpa"; even Yugi's friends call him by this

[4] - Ittekimasu = "I'm going (to school)!"; Japanese children normally say this before leaving the house.

[5] - Mou hitori no boku / ore = roughly means "My other self". Yugi always calls Yami by this.

[6] - Aibou - "Partner" "Buddy" "Pal", all of the above at once. Yami always calls Yugi this.

[7] - Gomen - "I'm sorry."

[8] - Sugoi - "Cool!" "Awesome!"

[9] - "Oh-siris!" - A cute joke I'm using with Yami from now on; its supposed to be pronounced like "Oh brother!"

[10] - Yami's bed - Okay, even _I _groaned at this joke! Sorry!

[11] - "Takahashi Surrender Sign" Mostly thrown in for my friends. If you've ever seen Ranma ½ or Inu-Yasha, you'll know.

****

.

Song by Luther Vandross, "Dance With My Father" 

"Every Parent Is A Hero" is by me, Una

Story dedicated to all of those who have experienced the death of a loved one, especially my friend Lisa

No flames, please!  



End file.
